Rise of the Zillionaire Star

The velvet ropes pulled tight around the entrance to the Moonstone Lounge. It beautified the edifice as it glittered like gold chains wrapped around the privileged. Paparazzi flashes lit the pavement like flash lights. It caught glimpses of designer dresses, their high-cheekbone smirks, and laughter that echoed throughout the Lounge.

And somewhere in that centre of the glamor, beauty, and Gucci perfume, stood Jaylen Cruz.

He kept to one corner as he hugged the shoulder of his friend. His friend was a twitchy second-tier influencer named Rico Flame. Rico barely had twenty thousand followers, but his manager had made an alteration to the guest list to grant him an entrance, and Jaylen slipped through behind him.

"You better not talk to anyone unless they talk to you first," Rico hissed under his breath. “Act like you belong.” His voice was stiff.

Jaylen nodded, adjusting the collar of his clearly thrifted made-real leather jacket. His shirt clung to his chest with nervous sweat, and the cheap chain around his neck felt like it was choking him. He glanced down at the flash drive in his hand - the one with his demo. All he needed was a shot and one real connection.

Inside, the lounge pulsed with low music and high egos. The walls were coloured in sapphire light, and holographic brand logos that danced across the marble floor. Celebrities laughed in their own corners, sipped champagne like it was water, and exchanged unreal smiles like it was their currency for trade.

Jaylen took a deep breath and stepped into the crowd.

No one noticed him.

He walked past a cluster of low-tier actors from a streaming drama. The people he’d once interacted with online. They looked right through him. A tall model bumped into him and he didn’t say sorry. Jaylen hissed and couldn't fight back cause he doesn't want to draw attention.

But someone from behind him laughed and whispered, “Who invited the intern?”

Jaylen brushed it off and made a beeline for the bar. He didn’t have drink money, but he needed a place to stand that didn’t feel like the floor was swallowing him whole. He posted up near a velvet booth where a handful of producers were gathered. One of them being Lance Marrow, a mid-tier name in the music scene and the producer he had dreamed of meeting since college.

This was it - the shot he had been looking for.

Jaylen waited for the right moment, then he stepped forward after summoning the courage.

“Hey, sorry to interrupt. Mr. Marrow, right? I - I’m a musician. Got a demo, man. If you would just give it a listen…”

Lance didn’t even turn his head fully. He looked at Jaylen over his sunglasses like he was peering at trash through the glass.

“You got a SoundCloud?” He asked with a light smirk.

“I-I mean yeah, but, this is unreleased. I think it's a pure heat. Just take a moment to listen.”

Lance chuckled and finally faced him. “Pure heat, huh?” He took the flash drive and held it up like a specimen. “You look like you just walked out of a Goodwill clearance bin, and you want me to believe you got the next hit?”

His table roared with laughter.

Jaylen felt heat rush to his face. He opened his mouth, then shut it again. Lance shook his head, tossed the flash drive over his shoulder like garbage, and turned back to his champagne.

"Security,” one of them muttered.

Jaylen backed away quickly with his heart pounding. The laughter echoed in his skull. He turned around to search for the one person in this place who might still care, Mia Lennox, his girlfriend. He had actually slipped through to the Lounge because of her.

He spotted her across the room in a red bodycon dress that clung like to her body. She was holding court near the VIP alcove. She was surrounded by stylists, dancers, and photographers snapping away like she was royalty. Her hair was perfectly curled with her lips glossed to perfection, and when she smiled, it wasn’t at him.

Jaylen approached slowly, dodging elbows and making his way through.

“Mia,” he called softly. But she didn’t hear hear him.

“Mia.” He called louder this time around.

She glanced sideways and her smile dropped like a glass on tile. For a moment, she looked like she didn’t recognize him. Then, with a forced half-smile, she stepped toward him, lowering her voice.

“What are you doing here?” she hissed. Her eyes scanning the crowd.

“I told you I’d find a way in,” he said, trying to smile. “I thought maybe we could get a photo together. You said you’d introduce me to…”

“Are you serious?” she cut in with a sharp voice and low. “Jaylen, look at you. You’re not even dressed for this. People seeing us together is a total embarrassment for me.”

His stomach sank. “I’m your boyfriend.” His voice hardened.

“Keep your voice down,” she snapped, glancing over her shoulder. “I told you to wait until I texted. You barging in like this…it’s pathetic!”

Jaylen took a step back. “You said you would support my music if I can get in here…”

“I did say that,” she said quickly. “But I can’t keep vouching for someone who’s going nowhere.”

The words hit like bricks. But before he could speak again, someone grabbed her waist from behind.

“Baby, there you are,” came a deep and arrogant voice.

Jaylen’s jaw dropped just as Blake Voss who was tall, sharp-jawed, and dressed in a white designer blazer slid an arm around Mia like he’d owned her forever.

Jaylen froze.

Blake smiled at him like a wolf. “Hey… you're the guy from that cringe video, right? The freestyle in the parking lot?” He laughed. “Got potential, man. Have you ever thought of leaving the industry?”

Mia chuckled under her breath. Jaylen’s hands curled into fists.

“Mia,” he whispered. “What is this?”

She shrugged, not meeting his eyes. Blake leaned down and kissed her neck.

Jaylen’s breath left him all at once.

Without thinking, he turned and stumbled away, pushing past dancers and models with his vision blurry. The crowd swallowed him, and the music felt miles away. He pushed open a side door into the garden courtyard, hoping for air, for space and for something that didn’t feel like it was collapsing.

But the universe wasn’t done with him yet.

Just as he walked Into the middle of the beautiful lit courtyard, under a glowing spotlight from the building’s neon art installation. He turned around to look at who he had left behind. Maybe she would rush to explain things to him. But Mia Lennox and Blake Voss lips were locked in a passionate kiss. Her hands were on his chest. His hand slid down her back.

Jaylen froze.

The spotlight poured over them, turning them into a perfect tabloid photo. From the bushes, a camera man snapped the shot - click, click, click. Jaylen stood in the dark, watching it all unfold like a bad dream that refused to end.

His throat tightened and his stomach turned. The flash from the camera bounced off Blake’s grinning face.

And then Mia’s eyes fluttered open. They landed right on Jaylen.